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Location: Moscow Kremlin
Closed to public
The Grand Kremlin Palace is the former residence of the All-Russian
emperors in the Moscow Kremlin.
It was built in 1838-1849 by a
group of architects under the leadership of K. A. Ton by order of
Emperor Nicholas I. N. I. Chichagov, F. F. Richter, P. A. Gerasimov, V.
A. Bakarev, N. A. Shokhin and others. The architectural ensemble
includes the Terem Palace, the Chamber of Facets and the Armory, the
Apartments of the Grand Dukes, palace churches and other buildings - in
total, the palace has more than seven hundred rooms of different times
of the XIV-XX centuries. In 1918 the palace became the seat of the
Soviet government, and in 1934 it was partially rebuilt. In 1994-1999,
the halls were reconstructed, returning them to their original
appearance. The Grand Kremlin Palace houses the residences of the
President of Russia and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Guided
tours are available in the building by appointment.
According to S.P. Bartenev, the history of palace buildings in the
Moscow Kremlin is as follows.
In the middle of the 12th century,
between the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist and the site of
the current Borovitsky Gate, there were small wooden mansions that
served as temporary residences for the princes. In the 13th century,
when Moscow became the center of a separate principality, the grand
duke's court was moved to the east, where the Church of the Savior on
Bor was built. In the XIV century, Grand Duke Ivan Kalita (1328-1341)
expanded his courtyard and built a stone cathedral on the site of the
wooden Church of the Savior, to which he transferred the monastery from
the village of Danilov.
Under Dmitry Donskoy (1363-1389) and his
son Vasily Dmitrievich (1389-1425), the Grand Duke's palace was already
richly decorated. The roof of the embankment tower was gilded, and a
clock was placed in the yard.
"In the summer of 6912 [1404], the
Grand Duke conceived a watch-house and put it in his courtyard behind
the church behind the Holy Annunciation. This watch-maker will be called
the hour-watch; at every hour he strikes the bell with a hammer,
measuring and calculating the hours of the night and day; no more man
striking, but human-like, self-resonating and self-moving, strangely
stylized somehow created by human cunning, exaggerated and outwitted.
The master artist is a certain black man, who came from the Holy
Mountain, a Serb by birth, named Lazar; the price of this beyash is more
than half a hundred rubles "
The prince built a stone Cathedral
of the Annunciation “in the hallway”, and a stone and “wonderful” Church
of the Nativity of the Virgin was built on the princess’s half. The
location of these grand ducal house churches outlines the dimensions of
the palace of that time.
The Grand Duke's Palace of Ivan III, erected at the end of the 15th -
beginning of the 16th century by Italian architects, included the
Faceted, Middle Golden, Embankment, Dining Chamber and other buildings.
At the beginning of the 17th century, under Boris Godunov, the Spare
Palace was erected, under Mikhail Fedorovich, the Terem and the Heraldic
Gates were built. In the second half of the same century, the palace of
Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, the chambers of other queens and princesses
were built, and the Embankment Garden was arranged on the roof of the
Reserve Palace.
Early 18th century
After the transfer of the
capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 1712, the Kremlin buildings
lost their significance. Part of the premises was occupied by the Moscow
offices of government departments, the remaining buildings gradually
dilapidated and burned repeatedly. During the reign of Anna Ioannovna,
the imperial court often stayed in Moscow and the palace complex was
used to accommodate the retinue. During this period, a wooden warm
palace, the Winter Annenhof, was erected next to the Zeughaus, according
to the project of Bartolomeo Rastrelli. When a new wooden Summer
Annenhof was built in Lefortovo in 1730, the warm palace was moved
there.
During the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, it was decided to build a New Palace on the territory of the Kremlin, also known as the Winter Palace, to accommodate the imperial court during visits to Moscow. The Empress retained most of the Kremlin ensemble during the construction of a new complex, however, the Middle Golden and Embankment Chambers were demolished. On their basement, under the leadership of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, a new baroque stone ensemble was erected. In the future, the complex was repeatedly rebuilt, but its general condition remained unsatisfactory.
During the reign of Catherine II, the palace in the Kremlin was
recognized as not corresponding to the greatness of the empire, although
the general ensemble of the fortress was perceived as a historical
monument. In 1759, a decree was issued on the preservation of the
Kremlin walls and towers. Nevertheless, nine years later, V.I. Bazhenov
proposed a project for a new palace, which included the demolition of
some buildings of the 15th-17th centuries without taking into account
their historical significance. The rest of the buildings were supposed
to be combined into a single complex with the buildings of the new
palace. In particular, the development would include the Ivan the Great
Bell Tower and separate buildings of the Cathedral Square. According to
Bazhenov's project, the ensemble was supposed to occupy the entire
riverine territory and descend to the banks of the Moskva River. Under
his leadership, the dilapidated Zhitny and Money Yards, the Spare Palace
of Boris Godunov with the Upper Embankment Garden, all the monastery
courtyards, with the exception of the Trinity, the Orders building, as
well as the gallery of the Armory, erected according to the project of
D. V. Ukhtomsky in 1764, were demolished.
On June 1, 1773, the
solemn laying of the new palace took place. However, soon after the
start of construction work, the southern wall of the Archangel Cathedral
was covered with cracks, the foundation of the temple began to sag. And
large-scale construction was recognized as inexpedient, suspending work
by 1775. The walls and towers began to be restored a year later under
the guidance of the architect M.F. Kazakov, and the Archangel Cathedral
was reinforced with buttresses.
Around 1800, according to the
project of N.A. Lvov, the interiors and facades of the Kremlin Winter
Palace were updated. The building burned down during the occupation of
Moscow by the French in 1812 and was restored in the forms of classicism
by 1817 by A. N. Bakarev and I. T. Tamansky. The project was prepared by
V.P. Stasov, who built the ensemble with an additional floor six years
later.
In 1836, a large-scale restoration was carried out under
the supervision of the architect F. F. Richter. However, the layout of
buildings still did not meet the needs of the time and was considered
outdated. So, Nicholas I told the Marquis Astolf de Custine, who was
visiting the city: “We will show you the new works that we are producing
in the Kremlin. I want to bring the architecture of these ancient
buildings closer to the present. The palace is too small and has become
uncomfortable for me.” In addition, the complex was considered a fire
hazard, since the wooden beams of the Stasov superstructure were in
contact with the chimneys.
After the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the start of the
large-scale project of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the palace in
the Kremlin again attracted public attention. The enlarged scale of the
cathedral under construction nearby emphasized the need to build a new
palace complex, symbolizing the renewal of the image of Moscow and the
revival of its metropolitan functions. In this regard, the building was
conceived as corresponding to the status of a coronation palace, and not
a residence.
After the fire of 1837 in the Winter Palace in St.
Petersburg, Nicholas I instructed K. A. Ton to develop a project for a
new Kremlin residence that would fully comply with the existing fire
safety standards and have fireproof structures made of cast iron and
iron. The old Elizabethan Palace, on the site of which it was planned to
build a new ensemble, was dismantled along with the 17th century Stables
Yard and other buildings in the southeastern part of the fortress. As a
result of further reconstructions, by the middle of the 19th century,
the panorama of the Kremlin, which opened from the Stone Bridge, had
changed a lot.
The unrealized project of the Kolomna Palace,
developed in 1836 by A. I. Stackenschneider, was taken as a model for
the stylistic design of the new ensemble. The new complex in monumental
forms was supposed to develop the composition of the Terem Palace and
organically combine with the ancient Kremlin buildings. In addition to
the Terem Palace, its churches and the Palace of Facets, the ensemble
was supposed to include: the new building of the Grand Dukes'
Apartments, the partially rebuilt Stables Building, the Poteshny Palace
and the new building of the Armory. Initially, it was planned to build
it simultaneously with the palace as a single complex, but in 1842 the
construction was divided into two phases.
In the order of the
emperor dated March 5, 1838, it is indicated that the construction work
was decided "to start this spring with new parts of it and finish in
four years both the main building and all the buildings belonging to
it." Before the start of the construction, a stone was laid on the site
of the planned basement with a commemorative inscription: "June 1838, 30
days." Under the plinth of the corner part of the complex, where they
planned to place the imperial office, they placed a copper plate with
the inscription:
"Laid down in the reign of Tsar Nicholas I,
under the control of the Minister of the Imperial Court, General of
Infantry Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, Chief Chamberlain Baron
Bode. The builder was the architect Konstantin Ton"
It was
supposed to spend more than six million rubles on the construction, with
the proviso that with the installation of iron rafters, the budget would
be increased by a million. However, almost twelve million rubles were
spent in total, and work continued until 1849.
A large team of
Moscow architects took part in the design and construction of the
palace. The management of the construction work was entrusted to the
executive chamberlain L. Bode, who was formally subordinate to Prince A.
M. Urusov. K. A. Ton was listed as the chief architect; P. A. Gerasimov
and N. A. Shokhin helped him. Since 1843, the architect, replacing Ton
in general matters, was appointed Fyodor Richter, who was also
responsible for designing interiors and interior decoration, together
with N. I. Chichagov, Vladimir Bakarev, P. A. Gerasimov, Nikolai
Shokhin, J. A. Artari . The main artist was F. G. Solntsev. It is also
known that the young I. S. Kaminsky took an internship at the
construction of the palace.
The construction of the palace began
immediately with the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior
in 1839. During the laying of a foundation pit near the Cathedral of the
Savior on Bor, the remains of a cemetery fenced with oak gouges and a
garden that had previously been located near the walls of the temple
were unearthed.
K. A. Ton designed large-span lightweight brick
vaults and metal roof truss structures. The Kremlin Palace was the first
building in the Russian Empire with a similar framework. In addition,
along with traditional building materials, the architect used innovative
for that time metal structures, cement and concrete. Thanks to this
approach, a suspended ceiling was installed in the largest hall of the
palace - St. George's. Four dormer windows were arranged in the palace
dome, under which there was a striking clock. Their bells were
distinguished by their purity of sound and were removed from the Trinity
Tower. At the top of the dome, a gold-plated flagpole for the imperial
standard was installed. Around the spire, a round observation deck with
a railing was arranged. Under the leadership of Academician D. M.
Perevoshchikov and Major I. I. Ilyin, the dome was combined with the
roof with metal ties that served as lightning rods. They took more than
110 thousand pounds of iron. Under the leadership of engineer-general
N.A. Amosov, a calorific heating system was installed in the palace. To
do this, 56 massive air heaters were installed in the basement,
supplying hot air through inter-wall thermal channels to the premises of
all floors. Fireplaces served as an additional source of heat. In 1842,
the Grand Kremlin Palace was merged with the Annunciation Cathedral by a
passageway.
Stone and cast iron were used for slab flooring of platforms and
internal passages. In the rooms and halls of the Grand Kremlin Palace,
the floors were covered with stone flooring and parquet. The first was
used for the entrance hall, corridors of the first floor, servants'
rooms, pantries and kitchens. The flooring was made of gray Revel stone,
white Kolomna marble and Gzhel bream. In the rest of the rooms, parquet
was laid “from different colored woods according to the patterns drawn
up for that <…> oak with small decorations from colored woods <…> and
ordinary oak”. The drawing of the typesetting parquets of the front
halls was made according to the sketches of Fyodor Solntsev in
1843-1845.
At the time of the construction of the palace, against
the background of the growth of national consciousness, military symbols
became in demand in architecture. According to the idea of Nicholas I,
the complex was to become a monument to the military achievements of the
country and the Russian army. The ceremonial halls were named in honor
of the patron saints of the military orders of the Russian Empire, which
symbolized the inviolability of imperial power. Thus, the Georgievsky,
Andreevsky, Aleksandrovsky, Vladimirsky and Ekaterininsky ceremonial
halls were named in honor of the country's military awards, and their
design was kept in the appropriate style.
Orders for furniture,
fabrics and items of artistic decoration were carried out by well-known
plants and factories in St. Petersburg and Moscow[48]. Fabrics for front
and residential apartments were supplied by Grigory Sapozhnikov's
factory. All canvases for upholstery of walls and draperies included
gold and silver threads. However, the fabric with precious metal quickly
wore out, and already in the second half of the 19th century, the
factory received an order to renovate the interiors[49]. Subsequently,
the production technology was lost, and during the last restoration, the
fabric decoration was replaced with a similar one using colored threads
instead of metal ones. According to art historians, this does not allow
to fully reproduce the brilliance of fabrics.
Furniture sets were
made in the Moscow workshops of Ernest Blechschmidt, Fyodor Dunker,
Alexander Schmidt and other furniture makers. So, in 1846-1847, the
Blechschmidt factory supplied about 20 sets of walnut, oak, and
mahogany. They also made doors from valuable types of wood in the front
apartments and living quarters of the Own Half. The chandeliers and
lamps of the front rooms were made at the galvanoplastic and foundry
factory owned by the husband of Princess Maria Romanova - Maximilian of
Leuchtenberg, as well as at the enterprise of Felix Chopin.
The sovereign personally inspected the premises of the complex. The
participants in the construction were rewarded and awarded the medal
"For the construction of the Kremlin Palace":
"[Lev Bode] was
granted, having bypassed the 81st senior (including two ministers) to
chief chamberlain, to the president of the Moscow Palace Office instead
of the elderly Prince A. M. Urusov, received a gold medal, showered with
diamonds, with the inscription “thank you” for wearing on the Alexander
ribbon, was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and at the same
time 50,000 rubles of silver; in addition, one of his sons was suddenly
awarded both the rank and the order "
On the territory of the
Kremlin, there was already a smaller royal residence - the Nikolaevsky
Palace, so the new complex was called the Grand Kremlin Palace. Its
consecration took place on Easter April 3, 1849 in the presence of
Emperor Nicholas I and members of his family. The parade procession
began with a prayer service for Metropolitan Filaret. Then, at the
behest of the emperor, four palace grenadiers attached a board with the
name of the Preobrazhensky Regiment to the wall of one of the halls.
According to some reports, after that, Nicholas I led the soldiers to
look at the new chambers. Despite the triumph, the ensemble was finally
formed only in 1851, when the construction of the Armory Museum and the
Apartment building adjoining it from the north, united by a passage with
the main ensemble, was completed.
Most contemporaries reacted
positively to the new complex and noted that the building harmoniously
blended into the development due to stylistic conformity. So, they
pointed out that “thanks to the Palace, the river acquired the features
of a grandly decorated highway.” However, not everyone shared this view.
Historian Alexander Turgenev lamented the "breaking of the monuments of
the Russian ancient Kremlin". And the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky compared
the new ensemble with a huge chest set on the side of Borovitsky Hill.
The author of travel notes about Russia, Marquis Astolphe de Custine,
believed that the construction of a new complex would "spoil the
appearance of the ancient sacred fortress."
The Grand Kremlin Palace was repeatedly reconstructed and rebuilt.
So, even simultaneously with the construction and arrangement of the
palace, work was underway to restore the ancient buildings that were
part of the complex. But the work in the Terem Palace was carried out
without the necessary historical research in accordance with the
existing ideas about ancient Russian architecture. New furniture was
made in the style of the 17th century from valuable types of wood, oak
window frames were inserted. The paintings of the walls and vaults were
made according to the sketches of Pyotr Gerasimov and Fyodor Solntsev by
the artist T. A. Kiselev. They significantly changed the architectural
and artistic appearance of the Terems, so later researchers pointed out
that the restoration did not meet modern standards. Nevertheless, later
fragmentary clearings showed that the original decoration of the
premises was preserved under the painting.
Subsequent
reconstructions were mainly related to redevelopment and ongoing
engineering work, the work was divided into planned and "caused by
extreme necessity". Every year, the Moscow Palace Administration primed
and painted the roof, repaired the plaster and refurbished the outer
walls of the palace. In order to preserve the ermine canopies of the
thrones, they signed a long-term contract with the merchant Nikolai
Borisovich Eggers, who "monitored the safety of the color" and
"undertook to preserve the furs from damage by moths and fix all the bad
places." Also annually carried out "extermination of harmful insects and
animals." In 1895, work on re-laying the platforms and steps of the Red
Porch with asphalting the vaults under it was recognized as unplanned in
1895, for which 1617 rubles were allocated.
During the coronation
celebrations of 1883, electric lighting was used to illuminate the Grand
Kremlin Palace. To do this, a temporary power plant was built on
Raushskaya Embankment, the cables from which were stretched to the
Kremlin. The installation of regular outdoor and indoor electric
lighting was started only in April 1895. The palace electrical station
was placed on the territory of the Alexander Garden, which made it
possible to install hoisting machines in the palace a year later and to
carry out an alarm system in some rooms.
In 1900-1902, the Grand
Kremlin Palace was connected to the city sewerage system. To “avoid the
breakthrough of sewer gases into the apartments of the palace”, the city
network was separated from the complex using a water seal, and the water
supply and drainage system was also rebuilt. The estimate for the
implementation of the project was about 40 thousand rubles. During the
Russo-Japanese War, a sewing workshop was set up in the premises of the
Kremlin Palace, where things were sewn and packed before being sent to
the front. In 1913, the ceremony of celebrating the 300th anniversary of
the Romanov dynasty was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace, which became
the last national holiday of Tsarist Russia.
During the shelling of the Kremlin in the fall of 1917, one of the
shells hit the Verkhospassky Cathedral, which was part of the Grand
Kremlin Palace. A corner of the building was destroyed, richly decorated
with tiles that could not be restored. However, in general, the ensemble
suffered less damage than other Kremlin buildings[64]. When a year later
the Soviet government moved to Moscow, there was a division of premises
on the territory of the fortress. On March 19, 1918, Anatoly
Lunacharsky, People's Commissar for Education, telegraphed to the
Council of People's Commissars: "According to the opinion of artists,
scientists, as well as my employees and mine, I would ask you not to
turn the Kremlin Palace into the seat of government." However, the
front, representative and Private Imperial Apartments of the Grand
Kremlin Palace were occupied by the residence of the government and the
living quarters of its members and their families, as well as the staff.
The director of the Armory reported that during this period "samovars
were placed under the tapestries of the 18th century, and children's
diapers were dried on Augsburg tables." However, the settlement was
partially suspended, since the valuables of the Hermitage, the palaces
of Petrograd, Livadia, and Belovezhskaya Pushcha, evacuated in
1914-1917, were stored within the walls of the complex, which required
enhanced security. Most of the apartments were liquidated already in the
1930s, but the last residents of the ensemble were statesman Lazar
Kaganovich and military leader Kliment Voroshilov, who moved out in 1957
and 1962, respectively.
Despite the settlers, already on January
26, 1919, the Grand Kremlin Palace was opened for tours. During the
first month and a half the complex was visited by over five thousand
people. Although the appearance of the premises was different from the
historical one. So, in 1925, the mantle that covered the imperial
thrones was handed over to the GUM commission department.
By the beginning of the XVII Congress of the CPSU (b) in 1934, it was
decided to rebuild the Grand Kremlin Palace for administrative needs.
Having dismantled the Red Porch, a dining room for delegates was erected
between the Faceted Chamber and the Cathedral of the Annunciation.
Freeing up space for a guest annex, they demolished the Church of the
Savior on Bor, founded in 1330, which served as the burial place of
Moscow princesses before the construction of the Ascension Monastery.
On the facade of the building, in place of five double-headed
eagles, the coat of arms of the USSR was placed, on the sides of which
the letters of the USSR abbreviation were placed.
In 1933-1934,
according to the project of I. A. Ivanov-Shitz, the Andreevsky and
Alexander halls were combined into the Conference Hall of the Supreme
Soviet of the USSR. It is known that museum workers tried to save part
of the design and took out the panel of the Andreevsky Hall, painted in
oil on canvas.
An additional room for the presidium was arranged,
the shape of the windows overlooking the Moscow River was changed, the
brick vaults and columns supporting them were dismantled, as well as the
wall between the Andreevsky and Alexander halls, after which cracks
formed on the facade. To prevent collapse, a massive balcony was built
up to the middle of the hall. Also, smaller balconies were built in the
side wall of the hall.
At the top, the room was covered with a
concrete coffered cylindrical vault, and the parquet of the hall and the
balcony was laid over the steel beams. The floor in the hall had a
slight slope from the presidium - for this reason, steps were installed
at the entrances to the hall from the side of the malachite foyer and
St. George's Hall. In 1939, a marble statue of V. I. Lenin by S. D.
Merkulov was installed in the hall at the former site of the imperial
thrones.
Also, in the hall - on the railing of the main balcony,
as well as on the beam above the presidium and the podium - there was a
clock with a dial with Arabic numerals. Above the clock above the podium
and the presidium was the coat of arms of the USSR. The meeting room
accommodated about 3,000 seats in the main room and 2,500 in the stalls
and on the guest balcony. The room was furnished with a podium (the
podium provided for the possibility of replacing wooden coats of arms -
this can be seen in photographs and videos of successive Soviet and
Russian coats of arms), desks and chairs made of walnut, furniture was
upholstered in green leatherette. The total area of the audience
exceeded 1600 square meters. meters. Nevertheless, the rectangular room
turned out to be unsuitable for parliamentary work, since the far seats
were at a great distance from the rostrum. For the normal operation of
the congresses, radio equipment, additional lighting and ventilation
were arranged. A complete refurbishment was carried out only in 1968.
However, six years earlier, the congresses of the CPSU were moved to the
Palace of Congresses, and since 1970, the sessions of the Supreme Soviet
of the USSR were also moved there. In 1990, the First Congress of
People's Deputies of the RSFSR was held in the Conference Hall.
Other premises of the Grand Kremlin Palace were used for official
events. So, until 1970, presentation of credentials by foreign
ambassadors took place in the Catherine's Hall. Orders and other
government awards were presented to outstanding figures of science and
culture in the halls of the Front and Own Half. The palace has
repeatedly hosted international congresses, congresses of the union of
writers, artists, composers, architects and film industry figures.
The Kremlin ensemble stood out against the backdrop of urban
development due to geographical and architectural features. The most
characteristic buildings located on the territory of the fortress were
cathedrals with gilded domes and the Grand Kremlin Palace, which were
clearly visible from the air. In this regard, after the start of the
Great Patriotic War, it was decided to mask the roof of the palace with
paint. The security of the fortress was strengthened, and on June 26,
1941, they began to disguise it, they also conducted blackout exercises.
Despite enhanced security measures, the complex was damaged during the
bombing of Moscow: a 100-kilogram shell exploded at one of the
entrances, the explosion of which knocked out the glass of the Catherine
Hall and the Own Half, the front door was broken and the electric cable
was damaged. During the first bombing of the Kremlin on July 22, 1941, a
high-explosive bomb filled with ammonal pierced the roof and vaults of
St. George's Hall. The quarter-ton projectile did not explode and fell
apart on contact with the floor. As a result, about four square meters
of parquet were destroyed and the ceiling between the fourth and fifth
chandeliers of the hall was damaged, the arch of the first floor under
the place of the fall was covered with cracks.
Also, kilogram
incendiary-thermite bombs were repeatedly dropped on the territory of
the complex, they were neutralized by the personnel of the fortress
garrison. One of the failed thermite shells was found in the attic of
the palace.
In honor of the participants in the Victory Parade on
June 25, 1945, a solemn reception was given within the walls of the
Grand Kremlin Palace, to which almost three thousand guests were
invited, more than two thousand of them were military personnel. They
were placed in the St. George and Vladimir halls, the Faceted Chamber,
the Holy Entrance Hall, in the dining room between the Faceted Chamber
and the Annunciation Cathedral, as well as in the lower and upper dining
rooms. It is with this solemn reception that I. V. Stalin's toast “For
the Russian people!” Is connected. In 1955, the film "Voices of Spring"
was filmed in the palace.
Restoration of the historical
appearance
In 1968, on the basis of conducted soundings, the original
colors of the facades of the three upper floors of the Terems were
restored. The work was supervised by the architect I.P. Ruben. During
this period, the plaster and paint layers of the murals were
strengthened, individual details were gilded, lost inlays, wall and
furniture upholstery were restored. Within a few months, the marble
walls of the main staircase were restored, steps and landings were
repaired.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the
Kremlin became the residence of the President of the Russian Federation,
by decision of Boris Yeltsin in 1994-1999, the palace underwent a global
reconstruction and restoration. According to the surviving drawings, the
historical Andreevsky and Alexander Halls were restored. The royal place
with the thrones of Nicholas II, Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria
Feodorovna has also been recreated. In the interval between the spring
of 1997 and 1998, the annexed in 1933-1934 was demolished. room for the
presidium (on the left side of the palace from the side of the main
facade; this can be seen when comparing photographs of the Grand Kremlin
Palace in Soviet times and photographs after 1998). Historical
bas-reliefs on the facade of the Grand Kremlin Palace were restored, in
particular, in 1998 (presumably after June), metal double-headed eagles
and coats of arms of the Kingdoms were installed. According to some
reports, the total cost of reconstruction reached 350 million US
dollars.
In 2008, another restoration was carried out in the
premises of the first floor.
The Grand Kremlin Palace is the current residence of the President of
Russia, where official events are held. So, the inauguration of the
President of Russia is taking place in the Andreevsky Hall.
Excursions are held in their free time from official events at the
request of organizations sent to the name of the head of the service of
the commandant of the Moscow Kremlin. Visitors can see the Palace of
Facets, the premises of the Terem Palace, the Own Half of Their Imperial
Majesties, as well as the ceremonial order halls, with the exception of
the Catherine's Hall. Also, the tour route does not include the
emperor's office and the Golden Tsaritsyna Chamber.
The Grand Kremlin Palace is 125 meters long and 47 meters high. The
total area of the complex exceeds 25 thousand square meters. In plan,
the Grand Kremlin Palace, made in the Russian-Byzantine style, is
presented in the form of a square with a small court-doneur, in the
center of which was the Church of the Savior on Bor, demolished in the
1930s. The main facade of the complex faces the Kremlin embankment, the
Blagoveshchensky entrance of the palace overlooks the Cathedral Square.
The architect Konstantin Ton to some extent repeated the composition
of the previous palace complex, consisting of buildings of different
times. Art historians believe that it was in accordance with the
peculiarities of ancient Russian architecture that the complex received
asymmetric forms. So, the side buildings are lower than the main volume,
and the chambers of the Grand Dukes, which initially included the
Apartments of Their Majesties and the Children's Half, were placed
separately and united with the main building by an arched passage. On
the second floor of the corridor, a winter garden was laid out, where
orange trees were placed to decorate the ceremonial halls on holidays,
as well as plants from the Neskuchny Garden. Presumably, the arcade of
the first floor was an allegory for the composition of the palace of
Ivan III, and the winter garden corresponded to the ancient Kremlin
parks. The facades of the complex corresponded to the decor of the Terem
Palace, in particular, the architect repeated the frame of the windows
in greatly enlarged sizes. They are made in the form of arches with
narrow piers and give the building a resemblance to a closed gallery.
The second double-height tier is divided by pilasters and richly
decorated with carved white-stone architraves in the Russian-Byzantine
style with double arches and weights in the middle, which is typical of
Russian architecture of the 17th century. Until 1917, the facade of the
palace was decorated with five white-stone bas-reliefs in the form of
double-headed eagles, above which were the coats of arms of Moscow, St.
Petersburg, Kazan, Astrakhan, Poland and Taurida. After the October
Revolution, they were replaced with the coat of arms of the USSR. In
1992, the Soviet coat of arms was dismantled, and after the restoration
of 1994-1998 in 1997-1998, double-headed eagles appeared, repeating the
historical appearance, but made of metal and painted to look like
stucco.
The palace is distinguished by the rigid geometrism of the plan,
characteristic of late classicism. But the main entrance is not in the
center of the main facade under the podium with coats of arms, but in
the eastern part of the palace, which was uncharacteristic for the
architecture of that period. The entrance has a modest design and is
highlighted from the outside by a pair of lamp-balls hanging on chains,
the shape of the doors corresponds to the window openings. The location
of the entrance is due to the need to place a straight front staircase
of 66 steps, the length of which would not allow the installation of the
structure in the center of the complex. It is made of Revel stone, the
walls of the room are finished with artificial marble, and the columns
are finished with natural Serdobol marble. The staircase leads to the
second floor to the entrance hall, from where the enfilade of
double-height ceremonial halls and ceremonial chambers begins. Next to
the main entrance on the ground floor is a marble vestibule with
polished granite columns, as well as the Imperial Family's own half.
There are false windows on the facade of the building - basically
these “windows” are located on the western wall of the palace near the
wall of the Andreevsky Hall. This can be seen when looking at a photo of
the outside of the palace and comparing it with the layout of the
palace.
A small square room in the entrance hall is connected with the main
staircase and St. George's Hall. The room has a modest decor, but its
ceiling is richly decorated with stucco ornaments. The entrance hall is
decorated with a fireplace, which is lined with gray-green jasper,
processed at the Kolyvan grinding factory. Also in the room are a clock
with the figure of Apollo on a chariot and two bronze chandeliers in the
Empire style.
At different times, various paintings were placed
on the wall of the entrance hall, each of which, according to
researchers, corresponded to the style of its time. Initially, the
center of the composition was the canvas of the French battle painter
Adolphe Yvon, depicting the battle on the Kulikovo field. It was
replaced by a painting by Ilya Repin "Reception of Volost Elders by
Emperor Alexander III in the courtyard of the Petrovsky Court in
Moscow." In 1924, a painting by Isaac Brodsky "The Grand Opening of the
Second Congress of the Comintern in the Uritsky Palace in Leningrad" was
placed in the entrance hall. Soon the image was removed, as some of the
characters were declared enemies of the people. In the 1990s, Boris
Ioganson’s similar painting “Speech by V. I. Lenin at the Third Congress
of the Komsomol” was replaced with a seven-meter work by Sergei Prisekin
“Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword”, dedicated to
the victory of Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipus.
St. George's Hall is the first and largest of the main rooms of the
palace. It got its name in honor of the Order of St. George the
Victorious, approved by Catherine II in 1769 and which was the highest
military award of the Russian Empire. The walls of the room are
decorated with gold embossed stars and order garters with the motto "For
Service and Courage". The room is covered with a semi-cylindrical
coffered ceiling resting on eighteen pylons. In the upper part they are
decorated with statues symbolizing the country's military victories. By
order of the emperor, marble plaques were installed in the room with a
list of regiments, crews and batteries that received St. George's
banners. In addition, the names of all the knights of the order are
engraved on the walls.
Initially, civil officials and
representatives of the Moscow nobility gathered in the St. George's Hall
during ceremonial events. During the reception on the occasion of the
1945 Victory Parade, invited military personnel gathered in the St.
George Hall. A microphone was installed in the room to broadcast
congratulations and performances by the concert artists to all the halls
involved in the celebration. In the future, the premises were used for
the presentation of military awards, orders and prizes to figures of
science and culture, as well as meetings of party representatives with
citizens.
Initially, on the site of the Alexander Hall, there was the
Embankment, or the Ambassador's Chamber, which existed from the reign of
Ivan III until the construction of the old palace complex under
Elizabeth Petrovna. After the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace,
the Alexander Hall was named after the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky,
established by Catherine I in 1725. The room is located in the central
part of the second floor along the southern facade of the complex and is
connected to St. George's by massive silver-plated doors with gold
ornaments depicting sashes and stars.
The length of the
rectangular room reaches 31 meters, width and height - 20 meters. The
overall color scheme corresponds to the order: the walls were lined with
pink artificial marble, the furniture was upholstered in velvet in the
color of a red sash with images of stars. Also, the hall is decorated
with coats of arms of the provinces and regions of the Russian Empire,
wall mirrors, four marble fireplaces and candelabra, made at the
factories of the Duke of Leuchtenberg. From above, it is covered with an
elliptical dome on four pylons with images of the order's emblems, stars
and the monogram of St. Alexander. The parquet was laid out of thirty
types of trees, the room was illuminated by a chandelier with 4,500
candles.
Initially, six paintings by the artist Fyodor Moller
were placed in the Alexander Hall, depicting moments from the life of
Alexander Nevsky: his entry into the liberated Pskov, the battle with
the Swedes in 1240, his marriage to the Polotsk princess, his stay in
the Golden Horde, as well as the mythical plot dedicated to the Battle
of the Ice, refusal to accept Catholicism.
According to the
historian Sergei Bartenev, during the solemn ceremonies in the Alexander
Hall, "honorary city ladies" gathered. For them, there were about fifty
wooden gilded chairs upholstered in velvet to match the color of the
ribbon. Also during this period, there was a custom before the
festivities to make four furniture slides upholstered in crimson velvet,
ancient gold utensils from the storerooms of the Armory. In the 1930s,
the premises were reconstructed and became part of the Conference Hall.
The interiors were restored in 1994-1999 and later the premises were
used for meetings of the State Council.
After the construction of the Grand Kremlin Palace, the territory of
the former Bed Porch was occupied by the Vladimir Hall, which was named
after the Order of St. Vladimir, established by Catherine II in 1782.
The room connects the multi-temporal buildings of the complex: the
Faceted and Golden Tsaritsyna Chambers, the Terem Palace and St.
George's Hall. Light enters the room only through a skylight in the
center of the hipped dome, from which hangs a multi-tiered chandelier
made at the St. Petersburg factory by Felix Chopin. Initially, the
three-ton structure was placed in the entrance hall, for which it turned
out to be too large, and later it was transferred to the Vladimir Hall.
Before that, the sixteen-sided dome was tested for strength, as it was
built from hollow bricks to lighten the weight. The room also has four
dark bronze floor lamps by Andrey Schreiber.
The spatial
composition of the room corresponds to the baptistery and is designed in
the form of a rotunda with a bypass gallery and a balustrade at the
level of the second floor. Initially, the hall was in plan a square with
sides of sixteen meters, but niches arranged at the corners give it a
resemblance to an octahedron. The decoration of the room corresponds to
the symbols of the order and is decided in the range of white, pink and
pale green colors. The walls and pilasters are faced with pink and white
marble, the star-shaped parquet is laid out from more than twenty
species of trees according to the drawings of Fyodor Solntsev by the
craftsmen of the Muller factory. The dome of the room is decorated with
stucco molding depicting the Order of St. Vladimir. The relief was made
by Russian craftsmen, some Dylev brothers.
After 1918, the
Vladimir Hall was used to sign treaties between the USSR and foreign
states.
By personal order of Nicholas I, during the construction of the
palace, the throne room was dedicated to the Order of St. Andrew the
First-Called, the symbols of which adorn the walls, doors and vaults.
Only the emperor could sit in the room, so from the furniture there was
only a throne. During the ceremonial events, military officials gathered
in the Andreevsky Hall.
In 1932, the premises were reconstructed
and included in the Assembly Hall. During the reconstruction of
1994-1999, the hall was restored to its former forms, recreating the
lost elements of decor according to the surviving sketches and
photographs.
Andreevsky Hall is connected to the Cavalry Guard Hall, where during the emperor's stay in the palace there was an honorary military guard. Since the personal guard of the sovereign traditionally consisted of Circassians, the furniture of the room was made of Caucasian plane trees. Its walls were lined with white artificial marble, a fireplace made of Carrara marble with a bronze clock was placed at the windows. In the 1930s, the building was rebuilt to accommodate NKVD officers during political congresses, but the fireplace retained its original appearance.
The Catherine Hall served as a throne room for the Russian empresses
and was named after the Order of St. Catherine, established in 1714. On
the sides of the entrance are pilasters on massive pillars, decorated
with malachite mosaic patterns. The walls are decorated with order
reliefs made in a filigree way and decorated with rhinestones. The
parquet was made according to the sketches of Fyodor Solntsev.
Initially, there was no furniture in the Catherine's throne room; during
solemn ceremonies, cavalry and court ladies gathered here. In the
future, the premises were used for negotiations at the highest level.
In addition to office space, on the ground floor of the Grand Kremlin
Palace there was an enfilade of personal imperial chambers. Their decor
was developed by architects F. F. Richter, N. I. Chichagov and V. A.
Bakarev, who prepared sketches not only for architectural decoration,
but also for candelabra, fireplaces, stair bars, furniture and doors. In
total, the premises of the Own Half include more than four hundred
interior items and decorative and applied arts, some of which were made
to order in the workshops of Heinrich Gambs and André-Charles Boulle.
According to the testimony of the French writer Theophile Gautier, who
examined the palace in the 19th century, in one of the far rooms of the
complex there was even a full-length statue of Napoleon, forgotten by
the French army during an urgent retreat in 1812.
The private
half is located to the left of the main staircase and overlooks the
southern facade. It includes two zones: the enfilade and the main part
of the furnished rooms. The enfilade consists of seven rooms, each of
which is designed in its own style. On the right side of the corridor
were the Great Buffet and three duty rooms for court servants.
The imperial dining room was used for tea parties and dinners of the
imperial family. To do this, four black lacquered tables and chairs of
the 18th century, upholstered in cherry leather, were placed in the
room. The walls of the room are lined with white and yellow artificial
marble, antique-style vases and marble sculptures are placed in niches.
The living room of the Empress is made in the Rococo style in pastel
colors, it was used for receiving a narrow circle of guests,
conversations and games. Furniture, ceiling lamps, mirror frames, wall
panels are richly decorated with gilding. The living room set included
sofas and chairs on wheels for easy movement of furniture. In the room
there is a porcelain chandelier with stucco flowers, created at the St.
Petersburg Imperial Porcelain Factory especially for the Grand Kremlin
Palace.
The personal office of the Empress was intended for
reading and relaxation and was designed in dark crimson tones. At the
request of Alexandra Feodorovna, furniture and doors were made of
precious woods in the style of the French furniture maker Andre Boulle
and decorated with plates of tortoise shell, mother-of-pearl and copper.
The objects are made on spikes without nails and glue by unknown
craftsmen.
The boudoir of the Empress is designed in silver-pink
tones. The walnut wood furniture and the walls are upholstered in soft
silk fabrics. The set for the hall was made by furniture maker Peter
Gambs. The room is decorated with a fireplace, which was lined with
green malachite plates made at the Peterhof Lapidary Factory, as well as
a bronze clock marking the days and phases of the moon.
The
imperial bedchamber is designed in blue-mother-of-pearl tones and
decorated with two columns made of solid pieces of marble with gilded
capitals. The Carrara marble fireplace is decorated with a clock called
"Night", made in the form of a ball with applied numbers, stars and two
bronze figurines of cupids on the sides. The mechanism is mounted on a
gilded stand with cast gilded female figures.
The enfilade of the
Own Half is completed by the Emperor's Study, located in the
southwestern part of the palace and connected with three administrative
premises - the Duty, Reception and Courier Rooms. The windows of the
study overlook the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and the Moscow River,
therefore, for soundproofing, the walls were trimmed with ash from the
inside. The room has a white Carrara marble fireplace. In the 19th
century, the walls of the office were decorated with paintings dedicated
to the war of 1812, and a bronze chandelier hung from the ceiling. At
the request of Nicholas II, the paintings were removed, and the
chandelier was replaced with a simple multi-lamp lamp.
The researchers note that the premises of the palace are
distinguished by solemnity and the main value is represented by objects
of decorative and applied art - lighting fixtures, furniture. The
complex has repeatedly carried out restructuring associated with
redevelopment and reconstruction of engineering systems. After the
opening of the Grand Kremlin Palace to the public in 1919, the imperial
chambers received a museum and exhibition character, they are rarely
used during ceremonial events.
The Catherine's Hall is connected
to the main Green Drawing Room, which was intended for meetings of the
Empress with guests of honor. The walls of the semicircular hall are
upholstered with green and gold fabric, created according to the
drawings of the artist Artari Angiolo. The ceiling is painted with
floral ornaments. The room is furnished with inlaid furniture and
illuminated by bronze crystal chandeliers, chandeliers and floor lamps.
Nearby are the boudoir, study and bedroom of the Empress, furnished with
upholstered furniture in the spirit of French palaces of the Louis XV
era. Also in this part is the Red Living Room, decorated in the
Renaissance style. The premises are used for meetings of the President
of Russia with statesmen and public figures.
The study of the
Empress and the boudoir are united by a small Kamerungfer room, where
the ladies-in-waiting were on duty. Its walnut-panelled walls and vaults
are decorated with multicolored plywood and mother-of-pearl mosaics.
Decorative painting by Giuseppe Artari on a scarlet background.
The maid of honor (White) corridor is located parallel to the Terem
Palace and the front suite of the second floor of the Grand Kremlin
Palace. It leads from the Holy Vestibule and the Vladimir Hall,
bypassing the rest of the premises, to the Cavalier Guard Hall, located
in the western part of the building. In 1817, ladies-in-waiting were
briefly placed in the small rooms of the corridor, after which the room
got its name.
Completing the front half is the Walnut Dressing
Room, its walls and ceiling clad in walnut paneling, fitted and
assembled seamlessly by craftsman Karl Hertz.